Laurence Glynne Hann and Vicki Ann Lowe - Court action

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Court action by Consumer Affairs Victoria against two promoters of a bogus business opportunity which claimed to raise funds for charity, has secured more than $45,000 compensation for four Victorian consumers.

The Ballarat Magistrates’ Court ordered Laurence Glynne Hann, 69, of Henty, and Vicki Ann Lowe, 54, of Maryborough, to compensate investors a total of $45,500 for breaches of the Fair Trading Act 1999.

The court found Mr Hann and Ms Lowe made false, misleading or deceptive claims in regional newspaper advertisements about the benefits of participating in a business opportunity they promoted.

Mr Hann was also found to have made false or misleading claims about the profitability of the venture and both were found to have breached the Fundraising Act 1998 and the Business Names Act 1962.

The scheme used a series of unregistered business names, including “Heartlink”, “Heartlink Australia”, and “The Retiree Group.”

Investors were asked to buy $5000 contracts for the packaging or distribution of household and domestic products, including shampoo and conditioner, cleaners, confectionery, pet care goods, gardening and automotive products.

Mr Hann and Ms Lowe misrepresented that the proceeds of sales of Heartlink products would go to charities and falsely claimed that Heartlink was a non-profit organisation. The couple were not registered fundraisers or associated with a registered fundraiser.

The four investors paid up to $22,000 to participate in the scheme, which Mr Hann and Ms Lowe claimed to have the potential to earn investors up to $2000 for 3-4 days work per week.

Investors did not derive the advertised benefits because Mr Hann and Ms Lowe:

failed to deliver any, or any sufficient quantity of goods to investors

failed to supply goods or services within a specified or reasonable time

supplied goods which were materially different from those agreed to.

In addition to compensating investors, Mr Hann and Ms Lowe were ordered to publish a public notice detailing the court orders in the Ballarat Courier and Swan Hill Guardian newspapers.

1 June 2010

Court action by Consumer Affairs Victoria against two promoters of a bogus business opportunity which claimed to raise funds for charity, has secured more than $45,000 compensation for four Victorian consumers.

The Ballarat Magistrates’ Court ordered Laurence Glynne Hann, 69, of Henty, and Vicki Ann Lowe, 54, of Maryborough, to compensate investors a total of $45,500 for breaches of the Fair Trading Act 1999.

The court found Mr Hann and Ms Lowe made false, misleading or deceptive claims in regional newspaper advertisements about the benefits of participating in a business opportunity they promoted.

Mr Hann was also found to have made false or misleading claims about the profitability of the venture and both were found to have breached the Fundraising Act 1998 and the Business Names Act 1962.

The scheme used a series of unregistered business names, including “Heartlink”, “Heartlink Australia”, and “The Retiree Group.”

Investors were asked to buy $5000 contracts for the packaging or distribution of household and domestic products, including shampoo and conditioner, cleaners, confectionery, pet care goods, gardening and automotive products.

Mr Hann and Ms Lowe misrepresented that the proceeds of sales of Heartlink products would go to charities and falsely claimed that Heartlink was a non-profit organisation. The couple were not registered fundraisers or associated with a registered fundraiser.

The four investors paid up to $22,000 to participate in the scheme, which Mr Hann and Ms Lowe claimed to have the potential to earn investors up to $2000 for 3-4 days work per week.

Investors did not derive the advertised benefits because Mr Hann and Ms Lowe:

failed to deliver any, or any sufficient quantity of goods to investors

failed to supply goods or services within a specified or reasonable time

supplied goods which were materially different from those agreed to.

In addition to compensating investors, Mr Hann and Ms Lowe were ordered to publish a public notice detailing the court orders in the Ballarat Courier and Swan Hill Guardian newspapers.